The Great Chronicle of Buddhas
by Ven. Mingun Sayadaw | 1990 | 1,044,401 words
This page describes how Love and Hatred arise due to Craving contained within the book called the Great Chronicle of Buddhas (maha-buddha-vamsa), a large compilation of stories revolving around the Buddhas and Buddhist disciples. This page is part of the series known as how the Āṭānāṭiya Paritta came to be Taught. This great chronicle of Buddhas was compiled by Ven. Mingun Sayadaw who had a thorough understanding of the thousands and thousands of Buddhist teachings (suttas).
Sakka’s Question (3): On how Love and Hatred arise due to Craving
Sakka received with delight the Buddha’s answer and asked the next question.
“Venerable Sir, what is the cause of like and dislike? What is their origin? What is their genesis? What is their source? When what factor is present, do like and dislike arise? When what factor is not present, do like and dislike not arise?”
And the Buddha answered thus:
“Sakka, King of Devas, like and dislike have craving or hankering (chanda taṇhā) as their cause, as their origin, as their genesis, as their source. When craving or hankering is present, like and dislike arise. When craving or hankering is not present, like and dislike do not arise.”
(Herein, chanda is synonymous with desire or wish. Chanda is used in two ways: wishing to see, hear, smell, taste, touch or to know, and craving for sense objects. The former is a wholesome factor called Kattukamyatā chanda which is the mental concomitant chanda, a wish to do. The latter is taṇhā which is the mental concomitant lobha, hankering after various sense objects. What is meant here is the latter type, namely, lobha, taṇhā-chanda.
Five Kinds of Taṇhā-chanda:
(1) Taṇhā-chanda developed as pariyesana-chanda, while seeking objects of sense pleasure.
(2) Taṇhā-chanda developed as paṭilābha-chanda, while acquiring objects of sense pleasure.
(3) Taṇhā-chanda developed paribhoga-chanda, while enjoying objects of sense pleasure.
(4) Taṇhā-chanda developed sannidhi-chanda, while storing and securing of sense pleasure.
(5) While bestowing rewards or gifts, as visajjana-chanda, i.e. giving out one’s property with expectation of reciprocal gain, as the bestowing of salaries and awards by rulers upon their men in the belief that these men will render their service by attending upon them and safeguarding them.
Hankering or Craving causes likes or dislikes. When one gets what one hankers after or craves for, one likes and has a fondness for the thing acquired. When one fails to get what one hankers after or craves for, one hates that objects of one’s craving i.e., dislike arises in him.